MILAN (Reuters) -Italy’s space agency and Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Italian aerospace group Leonardo and France’s Thales, will begin operations at one of Europe’s largest satellite manufacturing centres by the end of this year.
The site, on the outskirts of Rome, is part of efforts by Italy and France to accelerate the production of satellites, as Europe races to rival the space capabilities of China and the United States, led by companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“The (satellites market) is one we cannot miss, we need to be part of it starting from now … our aim is to become global players,” Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said at the site’s inauguration on Tuesday.
The 21,000 square metre (226,000 square feet) plant – which cost 100 million euros ($117 million), financed by EU post-COVID funds and investments by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) – will manufacture around 100 satellites per year.
“The Space Smart factory will increase Thales Alenia Space’s production capacity and global competitiveness. It will support European and national programmes, as well as the main future space ventures of our continent,” TAS President and CEO Herve Derrey said in a statement.
The site, which brings together around 150 small and medium enterprises from the sector, will produce dual-use satellites for both civil and defence applications.
It is expected to play a central role in producing some of the more than 100 satellites needed to set up Italy’s national low-orbit dual-use constellation, the president of Italian Space Agency ASI, Teodoro Valente, told reporters.
Leonardo and Thales, which also own joint-venture Telespazio, are in talks with Airbus to create a major new European satellite manufacturer. Although discussions seem to have gained momentum recently, a framework agreement could still take weeks.
“We are working on it. It could be a matter of days or weeks. The boards of the companies are looking at the numbers. I really hope we can do it,” Cingolani told reporters.
He added that work-share arrangements and governance remain the main points to be agreed.
($1 = 0.8566 euros)
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti.Editing by Mark Potter)
